}}{{tnr}}'''James E. "Jim" Risch''' (born May 3, 1943 in Milwaukee, [[Wisconsin]]) is a [[U.S. Senate|U.S. Senator]], representing [[Idaho]]. Risch was first elected to [[U.S. Senate|Senate]] in 2008.

}}{{tnr}}'''James E. "Jim" Risch''' (born May 3, 1943 in Milwaukee, [[Wisconsin]]) is a [[U.S. Senate|U.S. Senator]], representing [[Idaho]]. Risch was first elected to [[U.S. Senate|Senate]] in 2008.

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Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by ''GovTrack'', Risch is a "[[GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking|lonely far-right Republican follower]]".<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=412322 ''Gov Track'' "Jim Risch," Accessed March 3, 2012]</ref>

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[[Governor of Idaho|Governor]] [[Butch Otter|C.L. "Butch" Otter]] appointed Risch to the [[U.S. Senate|Senate]] seat to succeed Senator Larry Craig, who indicated his resignation on September 30, 2007.<ref name="bioguide"/>

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Governor [[Butch Otter|C.L. "Butch" Otter]] appointed Risch to the Senate seat to succeed Senator Larry Craig, who indicated his resignation on September 30, 2007. Risch is also the former [[Governor]] and [[Lieutenant Governor]] of [[Idaho]]. Risch is a rancher, attorney and politician from Ada County. He was the first Roman Catholic to serve as Governor of Idaho in over 90 years.

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Risch previously was a member of the [[Idaho State Senate]] from 1975 to 1988 and 1995 to 2002.<ref name=bioguide">[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000584 ''Bioguide'' "Jim Risch" Accessed June 21, 2013]</ref> He also served as [[Lieutenant Governor of Idaho]] from 2003 to 2006 and 2007 to 2009 and as the [[Governor of Idaho]] from 2006 to 2007.<ref name="bioguide"/>

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Risch is a rancher, attorney and politician from Ada County. He was the first Roman Catholic to serve as [[Governor of Idaho]] in over 90 years.<ref name="biogude"/>

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by ''GovTrack'', Risch is a "[[GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking|lonely far-right Republican follower]]".<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=412322 ''Gov Track'' "Jim Risch," Accessed March 3, 2012]</ref>

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===Lifetime voting record===

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::''See also: [[Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives]]''

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According to the website ''GovTrack,'' Risch missed 18 of 1,274 roll call votes from Jan 2009 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 1.4%, which is better than the median of 1.7% among currently serving senators as of March 2013.<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/james_risch/412322 ''GovTrack,'' "Jim Risch," Accessed March 29, 2013]</ref>

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===Congressional staff salaries===

::''See also: [[Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives]]''

::''See also: [[Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives]]''

The website ''Legistorm'' compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Risch paid his congressional staff a total of $2,190,509 in 2011. He ranks 16th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 21st overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, [[Idaho]] ranks 15th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average [[U.S. Senate]] congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.<ref>[http://www.legistorm.com/member/928/Sen_Jim_Risch.html LegiStorm "Jim Risch"]</ref>

The website ''Legistorm'' compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Risch paid his congressional staff a total of $2,190,509 in 2011. He ranks 16th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 21st overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, [[Idaho]] ranks 15th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average [[U.S. Senate]] congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.<ref>[http://www.legistorm.com/member/928/Sen_Jim_Risch.html LegiStorm "Jim Risch"]</ref>

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Each year ''National Journal'' publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Risch ranked 7th in the conservative rankings among U.S. Senators.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings2011/searchable-vote-ratings-tables-senate-20120223 ''National Journal,'' "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: Senate," February 23, 2012]</ref>

Each year ''National Journal'' publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Risch ranked 7th in the conservative rankings among U.S. Senators.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings2011/searchable-vote-ratings-tables-senate-20120223 ''National Journal,'' "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: Senate," February 23, 2012]</ref>

Risch is a rancher, attorney and politician from Ada County. He was the first Roman Catholic to serve as Governor of Idaho in over 90 years.[3]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Risch is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Risch was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1961 to 1963, then transferred to the University of Idaho where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He obtained his B.S. in Forestry in 1965 and continued his education at the University of Idaho College of Law, serving on Law Review, and receiving his J.D. in 1968.

Risch entered politics in 1970, at age 27, winning election as Ada County Prosecuting Attorney. While serving in this capacity, he taught undergraduate classes in criminal justice at Boise State University and served as the President of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association.[4]

Issues

Threaten roadblock

Risch and Mike Crapo are joining Republicans in vowing to block all action until the U.S. Senate extends the Bush-era tax cuts and a government spending plan. All 42 Senate Republicans signed a letter sent to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev..

Risch said this follows the message voters sent during the last election.

“It is long past time we focus on getting Americans back to work and our deficit spending stopped,” Risch said. “That’s what Americans voted for last month.”[7]

DADT and DREAM Act

Sens. Risch and Mike Crapo and a majority of Senate Republicans in voting down proposals that would allow homosexuals to openly serve in the military ("Don't Ask, Don't Tell") and allow young people in the U.S. illegally to remain in the country if they attend college or join the military (DREAM Act). Both Risch and Crapo said the two plans were rushed through by Democrats during Congress’s lame duck session.

Risch and Crapo both cast procedural votes against the DREAM Act, short for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, and a defense spending bill that would have repealed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy preventing gays and lesbians from openly serving.

“Today’s votes were nothing more than the majority checking off a laundry list of campaign promises to their base,” Risch said in a prepared statement. “The DREAM Act remains a deeply troubling bill that provides amnesty and taxpayer-funded benefits to those who broke our nation’s laws. The defense authorization bill was weighed down with social issues like ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and funding for abortions at military clinics. These policies put social change ahead of the well-being of our men and women in uniform.”[8]

Presidential preference

Fiscal Cliff

Risch voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[10]

Drones filibuster

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists criticized President Obama for not offering a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[11][12][13]

According to the website Breitbart, Risch was one of 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.[14][15]

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[16]

Elections

2008

On November 4, 2008, Risch won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Larry LaRocco (D), Rex Rammell (I), Pro-Life (I), Kent A. Marmon (L) and Kevin Volkmann (I) in the general election.[17]

U.S. Senate, Idaho General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Jim Risch

57.7%

371,744

Democratic

Larry LaRocco

34.1%

219,903

Independent

Rex Rammell

5.4%

34,510

Independent

Pro-Life

1.3%

8,662

Libertarian

Kent A. Marmon

1.5%

9,958

Independent

Kevin Volkmann

0%

3

Total Votes

644,780

2006

Risch was expected to enter the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary to succeed Kempthorne, who was completing his second term at this time of his federal appointment. However, Congressman Otter had announced his candidacy for the position in December 2004, and had gained a significant headstart in campaigning and fundraising. In November 2005, Risch announced his intention to seek election again as lieutenant governor.

Although he had another opportunity to enter the gubernatorial race after Kempthorne's appointment in March 2006, Risch again chose not to challenge Otter for the position. Risch was unopposed for the 2006 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor and defeated former Democratic Congressman Larry LaRocco in the general election. Risch stepped down as governor in January 2007 and returned to the role of lieutenant governor.

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Risch is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, Risch raised a total of $3,114,815 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 3, 2013.[18]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Risch missed 18 of 1,274 roll call votes from Jan 2009 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 1.4%, which is better than the median of 1.7% among currently serving senators as of March 2013.[20]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Risch paid his congressional staff a total of $2,190,509 in 2011. He ranks 16th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 21st overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Idaho ranks 15th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[21]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Risch's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $19,002,055 and $87,768,997. That averages to $53,385,526, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2011 of $6,358,668. His average net worth decreased by 1.30% from 2010.[22]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Risch's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $19,454,055 and $88,721,997. That averages to $54,088,026, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2010 of $7,054,258.[23]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Risch ranked 1st in the conservative rankings in 2012.[24]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Risch ranked 7th in the conservative rankings among U.S. Senators.[25]

Voting with party

2013

Jim Risch voted with the Republican Party 90.4% of the time, which ranked 15th among the 46 Senate Republican members as of June 2013.[26]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Jim + Risch + Idaho + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

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Personal

Senator Risch and his wife Vicki have been married for 43 years. They have 3 sons, 2 daughters-in-law and 6 grandchildren. Their commitment to Idaho and their work together earned them the distinction of being selected as Idaho's Healthy Marriage Ambassadors in 2007. They live on a ranch outside of Boise and maintain an apartment in Washington, D.C.[27]